The next several posts will be related to a ministry emphasis I believe the Holy Spirit has placed in my hands to encourage other lovers of Jesus to go deeper.
I have been a believer in Jesus for 30 of my 61 years. Before that I attended Church in a nominal Lutheran kind of way. But I was empty and lost.
At a low point in my life, in 1977, I came to faith in Jesus. Nothing dramatic. A simple prayer of faith (Help! I think I prayed) set my life on a course that I have never looked back from. I bumbled around after that. Looked for more. Knew my nominal denominational Christianity had to end. I was teaching Sunday school. I was good friends with the Pastor. But I was hungry for more. A more that wasn't in the Lutheran Church I was attending. It was a pity but there was nothing there for me.
I met a man Rod Hall who encouraged me to seek for more. More of God. He said to me, "God has much more for you". That was a prophetic word at a nuclear level.
I made contact with an old drinking buddy of mine. Chuck Rutherford. He had been saved. He told me that my search would best begin by receiving the Holy Ghost. I was like the Disciples of John at Ephesus. I didn't even know there was a Holy Ghost.
He laid hands on me. I asked for the gift. Nothing. I didn't leave there disappointed. I left expecting. Weeks later all by myself I got the full manifestation. I began speaking in other tongues. It was glorious.
I'm always amused by people who try to cast doubt on the gifts of the Spirit. That tongues are not for today. That all charismata has ceased. But, sorry, it's too late. My experience in glory trumps your theology all day long. I'm radical and ruined for Jesus.
Now some 27 years later I am so thankful for this wonderful experience of Pentecost. Everything about my spiritual life is so satisfying, rich and fulfilling.
What's more, it gets better all the time.
This was the revolution that put me on the road to where I am today. Saved and Baptized in the Holy Ghost and full of Glory.
More tomorrow. Stay Tuned. There are 8 more chapters to this.
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